Madden NFL 2005: Chalk Talk

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10 things you need to know before you play your first game.

By Jon Robinson and Mike Rappaport

All across the country, calendars are marked for August 10th. Red circles, X's, scribble notes, you name it, gamers hold Madden's release date sacred, and the smack talking around the country has already begun. Only thing is, you think you know how to play the game, you think you mastered last year's game where the Falcons ruled and the name of the game was offense, but in reality, you don't know a damn thing about playing this year's Madden because in 2005, the tricks are over, the Michael Vicks of the world can't control the flow, and you can basically throw out the term "jet packing" like you've never heard it because the days of throwing the ball up to the "greatest receiver to ever play" Brian Finneran are over.

Madden NFL 2005 is about straight up football where for the first time the defense is as powerful as the offense. The game is about knowing your team, the matchups on the field, and exploiting any weakness you see at the line.

The game might also just have the smartest A.I. of any football game you've ever played.

Jon Robinson and "Magic" Mike Rappaport were the first people invited to play the new Beta version of Madden 2005, and we've come up with our list of 10 things you need to know about the new game. Forget the basic features, you already know about all of them. These are down and dirty details for gamers who want the info beyond the "Hit Stick".

1. Built on D: Last year's game was built around Michael Vick and the Falcons. This year's game is built around its new cover athlete, Ray Lewis and his defense first, there is no "O" in Ravens team. Forget about running around the pocket with your quarterback and throwing the ball to the opposite end of the field. This year if you do that, you're asking for a sack or a turnover. When calling your defense, be on the lookout for "Black Routes". These are black arrows that show quarterback containment and really come in handy when playing against a QB who likes to run. 2005 is about the three or five step drop and release. You hold the ball any longer than that, you tuck the rock and try to run, and the defense pursues you like they're trying to remove your head from your body or at least your helmet. The team at Tiburon did a fantastic job of righting the wrongs of Michael Vick's legs from last year's game. And while Vick is still fast, the defensive pursuit more than makes up for it.

On offense, think Ravens again as running the ball, wearing out the defensive line and pounding the ball is the way to go. The defensive backs are so smart this year, play the ball so well, that you're risking a turnover by throwing into coverage. The best way to play Madden 2005 is straight up, running the ball to bring the defense up, then passing over the top when they blitz.

2. Fixed Bugs: Anyone who knows last year's game knows all the tricks and glitches that went with it. Punt block formation on field goals will block it every time when lined up right, same goes for field goal block formations on punts. Thankfully, this has been fixed. Also remedied is the trick of pulling your defensive linemen off the line to stop the run. This year, instead of playing out of position, the linemen will return to the line and go back to their three-point stance.

3. Might as well Jump: Gone is the hurdle button. That's right, jumping up and trying to kick your opponent in the nuts is out of the game well, sort of. In the past, hitting the hurdle button could actually help keep defenders from tackling you, a kind of "running glitch" widely used by top players. Now, when you hit the button formerly known as hurdle, your runner will cover the ball with two hands and barrel forward attempting to break tackles. Players will still hurdle over the defense when a defender is on the ground, but now it is simply a contextual animation and not something the user controls. After hours of gameplay, this is proven to be a brilliant move as you will no longer be tripped up by a defender face down in the turf.